


A Convenient Fiction

by Anonymous



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24445279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Jughead finds out Reggie put him in the playbook, and decides to find out why.
Relationships: Jughead Jones & Reggie Mantle
Kudos: 7
Collections: Anonymous





	A Convenient Fiction

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here](https://riverdale-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/1356.html?thread=24652#cmt24652) on the Riverdale kinkmeme, way back when season one was airing (as reflected by backdating). Truly, it was a simpler time.

Confronting Reggie Mantle by himself behind the school, with no backup or actual plan, is not the stupidest thing Jughead has ever done. It might make the top 20 list, though. Up close, he suddenly remembers that Reggie (a) is kind of a giant and (b) once almost dislocated his shoulder in middle school while trying to literally fit him inside a locker.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey?" Reggie says, looking more wary than aggressive, which is a good start.

"Did you read Betty's exposé?" Jughead says.

"I may not be top of the class, Emily the Strange, but I can read," Reggie says.

"Early 2000s Goth subculture reference? Pretty deep pull, there, Reginald. Sounds like you're running out of new material." It's easy to fall into a back-and-forth with Reggie.

"Yeah, well, I can only reference Stephen King so many times in one month," Reggie says. They've been doing the same dance for years, give or take a little physical violence.

"I didn't get a look at the book before it went up in smoke, but my editor was kind enough to let me have a look at a photo she took," Jughead says, steering the conversation toward uncharted territory. "Of the inside. Ringing any bells?"

"I didn't do any social media stuff," Reggie says, defensive. "I didn't make anyone's life harder. But I had to write in the book, you know?"

"Right," Jughead says. "Peer pressure. Poor Mr. Popularity had to compromise his integrity for fear of having his top dog status threatened."

"Shut the hell up, Jones." The lack of a more obviously mocking nickname could be a good sign or a very bad one. "I was low man on the totem pole when I got brought up from JV to varsity last year. I did it to avoid a lot of worse stuff."

"Lesser of two evils," Jughead says. His tone is not especially understanding. "Which would make sense, if you just put down the names of blandly pretty girls who were neither popular nor unpopular. No one would ask questions. But that's not what you did." He takes a step forward. Reggie takes a step back. And _that's_ interesting. "Like I said, I saw some of the inside of the book. You might not owe me an explanation for everything, but I think you owe me an explanation for at least one thing."

"It was the easiest way to come out to the guys as bi," Reggie says. "I knew they wouldn't hassle me as much if I brought it up like I was just bragging about sex. And I figured they wouldn't hassle _you_ if they thought we had a thing."

"Chivalrous," Jughead says drily.

"I've been pulling your metaphorical pigtails since we were in kindergarten," Reggie says. "It made sense to them."

"As impressed as I am by your use of a polysyllabic word, that's not good enough," Jughead says. Reggie frowns.

"It's not like you were around to pick on much last year anyway," Reggie says. He seems more certain of himself now that he's actually admitted to what he did, even if he hasn't been forgiven. "You started cutting class. I barely saw you around at all."

"Great supporting evidence for a grand romance," Jughead says.

"And what's been up with _you_ lately? For the longest time you were near the top of the class, and now you barely show up. Everyone thought it was going to be a grudge match between you and Dilton Doiley for valedictorian, the goofball and the boy genius, but then you both went off the rails." Reggie leans back against the brick wall of the school. "Everything got so weird last year."

"It's been weird for longer than that," Jughead says. "And it's only getting weirder."

"I hear you've got a murder-board up in the Blue & Gold," Reggie says.

"Not just me. Me and Betty, with some help from Kevin and whoever else has pertinent information." He'd thought about putting Reggie on there, but decided against it. Reggie and Jason were friends, and the only way Reggie had benefited from Jason's death was more of a spotlight on him during football games. Even Reggie wasn't that petty. And besides, if he started thinking about Reggie that way, he'd also have to start suspecting Archie. He wasn't going to go down that road.

"I guess I'll read all about it when you publish your own scorching exposé, huh?" Reggie says.

"Yeah, maybe," Jughead says. "I don't know if I'll get that far." Another road he doesn't want to go down. So he redirects: "We still haven't talked about how you're going to make it up to me."

"Make it up to you?" Reggie repeats, perplexed or maybe incredulous.

"For besmirching my good name," Jughead says. Reggie scoffs. "Or my honor, at least, if you don't think my reputation in general is worth a rat's ass."

"What do you want?" Reggie says.

"A source who won't spare my feelings," Jughead says. "Anything you hear from the other players that might be relevant. I know there's stuff Archie won't tell me, if he thinks it'll upset me, and I'm not some delicate flower who needs to be handled with care."

"No, you need to be handled with care because you have thorns or poison or some shit," Reggie says. He almost smiles. Jughead smirks back. "That's it? Just information."

"And you can buy me fries when you check in with me," Jughead says.

Reggie opens his mouth, closes it, and frowns before getting any words out. "It'll look like a date."

"Yeah, well, if you've told them you dumped me..."

"No! I mean, I haven't mentioned it much since I put it in the book. And I made it sound like more of a friends-with-benefits thing anyway," Reggie says.

"Frenemies with benefits," Jughead says. Reggie looks away.

"I'm sorry, if that's worth anything."

"And I'm not exactly happy you did it, but it's led to what I hope will be a mutually beneficial arrangement." He holds out his hand. Reggie shakes it. "Wednesday after practice?"

"Sure. You have my number, if anything comes up?" Reggie says. And... he doesn't actually, but they exchange information.

"Reggie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Jughead says. Reggie rolls his eyes.

"Keep dreaming, Humphrey Bogart."


End file.
